Do you think God's purpose for creating life has changed since Genesis 1:27,28, just because the first two humans messed things up?
How do you feel about scriptures like Psalms 37:11, 29 and Matthew 5:5, which say the Earth will continue to be inhabited?
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Re: God's Purpose For Creating Life
by jimwalton » Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:06 pm
> Do you think God's purpose for creating life has changed since Genesis 1:27,28, just because the first two humans messed things up?
This seems a bit of a trick question, like "Have you stopped beating your wife?" Genesis 1 is about how God created life to function, not about material creation. Genesis 1.27-28 are about the role that human beings have on the earth (to rule [as God would] and to subdue it [scientific mandate]). So, in answer to your question, God is done with the act of creation (Gn. 2), and now it's a matter of playing history through to its conclusion. Second, the function and role of humanity has not changed. We are still supposed to act as God's co-regents on the earth, ruling it as He would, and filling the role of priest and priestess (Gn. 2.15: to "work" and "care for" are priestly terms, not agricultural ones). We are also still supposed to fulfill the scientific mandate (learn as much as we can to care for sacred space).
> Psalm 37.11, 29
The land was connected with the covenant (Gn. 12.1; 13.14-15). I don't understand your connection between these verses and Gn. 1. Some explanation would help.
> Matthew 5.5
Similar to my previous comment. What does this have to do with Genesis and God's purpose for creating life? God created the universe as a temple suitable for his majesty and deity. Other false gods had humans make a temple for them to live in; Jehovah made his own temple (the cosmos) that was a more suitable expression of his nature (Ps. 19.1; Acts 17.24).
Then he created human beings because he wanted more children (Rom. 8.16-18, 29-30; Jn. 1.14, 12; Heb. 2.10). His love was complete and fulfilled in the Trinity, but He wanted more children to share His presence and His love with, not out of need but out of desire. (As a Jehovah's Witness, I know you won't agree with this one.)
The truth is, Biblically speaking, Heaven is NOT our ultimate destination. Earth is. "The land." Jesus didn't come to lead us away from Earth and off to Heaven. He died physically and was raised back to life as something new, but still physical (different from what we understand as physical, however). Revelation talks about how there will be a New Heaven and New Earth in the end (Rev. 21.1-5), that God will dwell here on Earth just as he dwells in Heaven, and that we will live (in resurrected bodies like Jesus's) on the new Earth (Rev. 21.3; 22.1-5). So the common equivalency between heaven and the afterlife is a bit of a mistake. Heaven was being used in this sense to refer to God's kingdom in general, but it became twisted into this idea that we would just leave Earth and spend eternity in Heaven. That's not biblical. Our ultimate destination is a new (perfected in some way, but still physical) Earth (Rev. 21.3; 22.1-5; Rom. 8.18-25, esp. 21).
This seems a bit of a trick question, like "Have you stopped beating your wife?" Genesis 1 is about how God created life to function, not about material creation. Genesis 1.27-28 are about the role that human beings have on the earth (to rule [as God would] and to subdue it [scientific mandate]). So, in answer to your question, God is done with the act of creation (Gn. 2), and now it's a matter of playing history through to its conclusion. Second, the function and role of humanity has not changed. We are still supposed to act as God's co-regents on the earth, ruling it as He would, and filling the role of priest and priestess (Gn. 2.15: to "work" and "care for" are priestly terms, not agricultural ones). We are also still supposed to fulfill the scientific mandate (learn as much as we can to care for sacred space).
> Psalm 37.11, 29
The land was connected with the covenant (Gn. 12.1; 13.14-15). I don't understand your connection between these verses and Gn. 1. Some explanation would help.
> Matthew 5.5
Similar to my previous comment. What does this have to do with Genesis and God's purpose for creating life? God created the universe as a temple suitable for his majesty and deity. Other false gods had humans make a temple for them to live in; Jehovah made his own temple (the cosmos) that was a more suitable expression of his nature (Ps. 19.1; Acts 17.24).
Then he created human beings because he wanted more children (Rom. 8.16-18, 29-30; Jn. 1.14, 12; Heb. 2.10). His love was complete and fulfilled in the Trinity, but He wanted more children to share His presence and His love with, not out of need but out of desire. (As a Jehovah's Witness, I know you won't agree with this one.)
The truth is, Biblically speaking, Heaven is NOT our ultimate destination. Earth is. "The land." Jesus didn't come to lead us away from Earth and off to Heaven. He died physically and was raised back to life as something new, but still physical (different from what we understand as physical, however). Revelation talks about how there will be a New Heaven and New Earth in the end (Rev. 21.1-5), that God will dwell here on Earth just as he dwells in Heaven, and that we will live (in resurrected bodies like Jesus's) on the new Earth (Rev. 21.3; 22.1-5). So the common equivalency between heaven and the afterlife is a bit of a mistake. Heaven was being used in this sense to refer to God's kingdom in general, but it became twisted into this idea that we would just leave Earth and spend eternity in Heaven. That's not biblical. Our ultimate destination is a new (perfected in some way, but still physical) Earth (Rev. 21.3; 22.1-5; Rom. 8.18-25, esp. 21).
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Re: God's Purpose For Creating Life
by Gabby » Sat Dec 22, 2018 9:59 am
> The truth is, Biblically speaking, Heaven is NOT our ultimate destination. Earth is. "The land." Jesus didn't come to lead us away from Earth and off to Heaven. He died physically and was raised back to life as something new, but still physical (different from what we understand as physical, however). Revelation talks about how there will be a New Heaven and New Earth in the end (Rev. 21.1-5), that God will dwell here on Earth just as he dwells in Heaven, and that we will live (in resurrected bodies like Jesus's) on the new Earth (Rev. 21.3; 22.1-5). So the common equivalency between heaven and the afterlife is a bit of a mistake. Heaven was being used in this sense to refer to God's kingdom in general, but it became twisted into this idea that we would just leave Earth and spend eternity in Heaven. That's not biblical. Our ultimate destination is a new (perfected in some way, but still physical) Earth (Rev. 21.3; 22.1-5; Rom. 8.18-25, esp. 21)
Yes. The very point I was speaking about
We were designed to live on the Earth and God's purpose in that regard has not changed.
Yes. The very point I was speaking about
We were designed to live on the Earth and God's purpose in that regard has not changed.Last bumped by Anonymous on Sat Dec 22, 2018 9:59 am.
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